[00:00:08.

350] - Speaker 1
You, the role of SMEs is quite substantial in many countries, especially in emerging and developing
countries. SMEs account for a large share of total employment, job creation and GDP in many emerging
economies. Now that is really important, especially if we take into account that 600 million jobs will be
needed in the next 15 years to absorb a growing global workforce, mainly in Asia and SubSaharan Africa.
Now, new jobs boost living standards and foster social cohesion in the country. And therefore, SMEs are
one of the main factors of economic growth and social peace.

[00:01:00.110] - Speaker 1
Without a robust and healthy SME sector, this cannot be achieved. Let's take the example of South
Korea. While that country is associated with giants like Samsung, Hyundai, LG, SMEs in Korea account
for more than 80% of total employment and about 50% of total value added. SMEs also played a large
role in the transformation of Korea into a high income industrialized country during the last quarter of the
20th century. Not surprisingly, SMEs are always high on the agenda of the government there.

[00:01:44.690] - Speaker 1
Of course, we should not conclude that all SMEs are drivers of growth and job creators. SMEs can differ
greatly in their role in the economy. A lot depends on the skills of individual entrepreneurs, their attitude
and willingness and ability to grow their business. But on the whole, SMEs play an important role in many
economies. And on average, they contribute more to employment in low income countries than in high
income countries.

[00:02:21.110] - Speaker 1
Now that we have established that SMEs play an important role in many economies, what can we say
about SME finance? Well, the first thing to note is that SMEs do need external funding. Of course, all
enterprises start small, and at the early stage in their development they use primarily internal funds the
owners, their families and friends. But eventually, in order to grow, SMEs will need external funding. They
need external finance to grow, invest and acquire new technology to increase productivity.

[00:03:06.290] - Speaker 1
Without financing, they may not be able to expand to compete in regional and or global markets, or even
establish business linkages with larger firms and position themselves in value chains.